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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 22, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15892-15895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6664]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0055-201107; FRL-9285-1]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and 
Designations of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Georgia: 
Macon; Determination of Attaining Data for the 1997 Annual Fine 
Particulate Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to determine that the Macon, Georgia, fine 
particulate matter (PM2.5) nonattainment area (hereafter 
referred to as ``the Macon Area'' or ``the Area'') has attained the 
1997 annual average PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS). The Macon Area is comprised of Bibb County in its 
entirety and a portion of Monroe County. This proposed determination of 
attainment is based upon complete, quality-assured and certified 
ambient air monitoring data for the 2007-2009 period showing that the 
Area has monitored attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5 
NAAQS. If EPA finalizes this proposed determination of attainment, the 
requirements for the Area to submit an attainment demonstration and 
associated reasonably available control measures (RACM), a reasonable 
further progress (RFP) plan, contingency measures, and other planning 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions related to attainment of the 
standard shall be suspended so long as the Area continues to attain the 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 21, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2011-0055, by one of the following methods:

[[Page 15893]]

    1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: benjamin.lynorae@epa.gov.
    3. Fax: (404) 562-9040.
    4. Mail: EPA-R04-OAR-2011-0055, Regulatory Development Section, Air 
Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960.
    5. Hand Delivery: Lynorae Benjamin, Chief, Regulatory Development 
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Such deliveries are only 
accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of operation, and 
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 
information. The Regional Office official hours of business are Monday 
through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-
2011-0055. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail, information that you consider to be CBI 
or otherwise protected. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an 
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Regulatory Development 
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 
Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all 
possible, you contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section to schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's 
official hours of business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, 
excluding Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel Huey or Sara Waterson, Regulatory 
Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics 
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 
Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. Mr. Huey may be 
reached by phone at (404) 562-9104 or via electronic mail at 
huey.joel@epa.gov. Ms. Waterson may be reached by phone at (404) 562-
9061 or via electronic mail at waterson.sara@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. What action is EPA taking?
II. What is the background for this action?
III. Does the Macon area meet the annual PM2.5 NAAQS?
    A. Criteria
    B. Macon Area Air Quality
IV. What is the effect of this action?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is proposing to determine that the Macon Area (comprised of 
Bibb County in its entirety and a portion of Monroe County) has 
attaining data for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.\1\ The 
proposal is based upon complete, quality-assured and certified ambient 
air monitoring data for the 2007-2009 monitoring period that shows the 
Area has monitored attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5 
NAAQS.
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    \1\ ``1997 Annual NAAQS'' refers to both the primary and 
secondary standards, which are identical.
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II. What is the background for this action?

    On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 36852), EPA established an annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS at 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\) 
based on a 3-year average of annual mean PM2.5 
concentrations. At that time, EPA also established a 24-hour NAAQS of 
65 [mu]g/m\3\. See 40 CFR 50.7. On January 5, 2005 (70 FR 944), EPA 
published its air quality designations and classifications for the 1997 
PM2.5 NAAQS based upon air quality monitoring data from 
those monitors for calendar years 2001-2003. These designations became 
effective on April 5, 2005. The Macon Area was designated nonattainment 
for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40 CFR 81.311.
    On October 17, 2006 (71 FR 61144), EPA retained the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS at 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\ based on a 3-year average of 
annual mean PM2.5 concentrations and promulgated a 24-hour 
NAAQS of 35 [mu]g/m\3\ based on a 3-year average of the 98th percentile 
of 24-hour concentrations. On November 13, 2009, EPA designated the 
Macon Area as attainment for the 2006 24-hour NAAQS (74 FR 58688). In 
that action, EPA also clarified the designations for the NAAQS 
promulgated in 1997, stating that the Macon Area was designated as 
nonattainment for the annual NAAQS but attainment for the 24-hour 
NAAQS. Thus, today's action does not address attainment of either the 
1997 or the 2006 24-hour NAAQS.
    In response to legal challenges of the annual NAAQS promulgated in 
2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 
(DC Circuit) remanded this NAAQS to EPA for further consideration. See 
American Farm Bureau Federation and National Pork Producers Council, et 
al. v. EPA, 559 F.3d 512 (DC Cir. 2009). However, given that the 1997 
and 2006 annual NAAQS are essentially identical, attainment of the 1997 
annual NAAQS would also indicate attainment of the remanded 2006 annual 
NAAQS.
    On April 25, 2007 (72 FR 20664), EPA promulgated its 
PM2.5 Implementation Rule, codified at 40 CFR part 51, 
subpart Z, in which the Agency provided guidance for State and Tribal 
plans to implement the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. This rule, at 40 
CFR 51.1004(c), specifies some of the regulatory consequences of 
attaining the NAAQS, as discussed below.

[[Page 15894]]

III. Does the Macon area meet the annual PM2.5 NAAQS?

A. Criteria

    Today's rulemaking assesses whether the Macon Area is attaining the 
1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The Macon Area is comprised of Bibb 
County in its entirety and a portion of Monroe County.
    Under EPA regulations at 40 CFR 50.7, the annual primary and 
secondary PM2.5 NAAQS are met when the annual arithmetic 
mean concentration, as determined in accordance with 40 CFR part 50, 
Appendix N, is less than or equal to 15.0 [micro]g/m\3\ at all relevant 
monitoring sites in the subject Area.

B. Macon Area Air Quality

    EPA has reviewed the ambient air monitoring data for the Macon Area 
in accordance with the provisions of 40 CFR part 50, Appendix N. All 
data considered have been quality-assured, certified, and recorded in 
EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) database. This review addresses air 
quality data collected in the 3-year period from 2007-2009.
    The following table provides the annual average concentrations 
averaged over 2007-2009 at the sites in the Macon Area with at least 75 
percent complete data in each quarter of each of those 3 years. The 
Macon-Allied Chemical monitor (13-021-0007) did not meet 75 percent 
completeness for the first quarter of 2008 and the Macon SE monitor 
(13-021-0012) did not meet 75 percent completeness for the second and 
fourth quarters of 2008 and third quarter of 2009. The 3-year average 
annual concentrations for 2007-2009 on this table without data 
substitution are 13.7 [micro]g/m\3\ for Macon Allied and 12.0 [micro]g/
m\3\ for Macon SE. The 3-year average annual concentrations for 2007-
2009 on this table with data substitution are 14.9 [micro]g/m\3\ for 
Macon Allied and 13.3 [micro]g/m\3\ for Macon SE. The data substitution 
procedures were separately applied to each site. The complete procedure 
for the maximum value data substitution test can be found in the EPA 
guidance document ``Guideline on Data Handling Conventions for the PM 
NAAQS,'' dated April 1999.
    Additionally, EPA and Georgia Environmental Protection Division 
believe an error occurred in the handling of the filter collected on 
February 4, 2009, and thus the data from the filter's analysis are 
invalid. A discussion on the sample invalidation can be found in the 
technical support document for this proposed rulemaking.

                            Table 1--Annual Average Concentrations in the Macon Area
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                                                                              Annual average     Annual average
                                                                              concentration      concentration
                       Site name                            Site number        ([mu]g/m\3\)    ([mu]g/m\3\) with
                                                                              without  data           data
                                                                               substitution       substitution
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Macon Allied...........................................        13-021-0007           \2\ 13.7           \3\ 14.9
Macon SE...............................................        13-021-0012               12.0           \4\ 13.3
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    The Macon Area is meeting the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS 
both with and without data substitution. The official design value is 
the value without data substitution. EPA is now proposing to make the 
determination that the Macon Area is now meeting the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS.
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    \2\ Macon Allied design value considers co-located data where 
primary data are not available.
    \3\ Macon Allied design value considers data substitution of 
58.1 [mu]g/m\3\ for all missing data in 1st quarter of 2008.
    \4\ Macon SE Annual Mean considers data substitution for second 
and fourth quarters of 2008 and 3rd quarter of 2009.
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    Determinations of attainment are based on the most recent three 
years of complete, quality-assured data. EPA also considers additional 
quality-assured data to the extent those data are available. In 
accordance with Appendix N and standard EPA practice, EPA's review of 
the data was centered on the three most recent years of complete data, 
2007-2009. Appendix N does not explicitly provide for comparisons to 
the NAAQS involving partial years of data, because various seasons of 
the year reflect various influences on PM2.5 concentrations, 
and a partial year's data may not be representative of values that 
would be determined from a full year's data set. Nevertheless, EPA 
examined data that are available to date. For the Area, the available 
data for 2010 in the AQS database are below the NAAQS for both sites; 
however, not all of the 2010 data have been reported and they are not 
yet certified. Based on 2010 data in AQS available through the third 
quarter of 2010, the Macon Allied site has a preliminary 2008-2010 
design value of 13.0 [mu]g/m\3\ and the Macon SE site has a preliminary 
2008-2010 design value of 11.6 [mu]g/m\3\, and thus are consistent with 
continued attainment. The complete 2008--2010 design values are 
expected to be below 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\. On the basis of this review, EPA 
is proposing to determine that the Macon Area has attained the 1997 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS and is soliciting public comments on its 
proposed determination.

IV. What is the effect of this action?

    If this proposed determination of attainment is made final, the 
requirements for the Macon Area to submit an attainment demonstration 
and associated RACM, an RFP plan, contingency measures, and any other 
planning SIPs related to attainment of the 1997 annual PM2.5 
NAAQS would be suspended for so long as the Area continues to attain 
the PM2.5 NAAQS. See 40 CFR 51.1004(c). Notably, as 
described below, any such determination would not be equivalent to the 
redesignation of the Area to attainment for the annual PM2.5 
NAAQS.
    If this proposed rulemaking is finalized and EPA subsequently 
determines, after notice and comment rulemaking in the Federal 
Register, that the Area has violated the annual PM2.5 NAAQS, 
the basis for the suspension of the specific requirements would no 
longer exist for the Macon Area, and the Area would thereafter have to 
address the applicable requirements. See 40 CFR 51.1004(c).
    Finalizing this proposed action would not constitute a 
redesignation of the Area to attainment of the annual PM2.5 
NAAQS under section 107(d)(3) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Further, 
finalizing this proposed action does not involve approving maintenance 
plans for the Area as required under section 175A of the CAA, nor would 
it find that the Area has met all other requirements for redesignation. 
Even if EPA finalizes the proposed action, the designation status of 
the Macon Area would remain nonattainment for the 1997 annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS until such time as EPA determines that the Area 
meets the CAA requirements for redesignation to attainment and takes 
action to redesignate the Area.
    This action is only a proposed determination of attainment that the 
Macon Area has attained the 1997

[[Page 15895]]

annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Today's action does not address the 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
    If the Macon Area continues to monitor attainment of the annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS, the requirements for the Macon Area to submit 
an attainment demonstration and associated RACM, a RFP plan, 
contingency measures, and any other planning SIPs related to attainment 
of the annual PM2.5 NAAQS will remain suspended.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This action proposes to make a determination of attainment based on 
air quality, and would, if finalized, result in the suspension of 
certain Federal requirements, and it would not impose additional 
requirements beyond those imposed by State law. For that reason, this 
proposed action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the CAA; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). In addition, 
this proposed 1997 annual average PM2.5 NAAQS data 
determination for the Macon Area does not have Tribal implications as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in 
the State, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct 
costs on Tribal governments or preempt Tribal law.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: March 10, 2011.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2011-6664 Filed 3-21-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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